The Sound of Sirens
by another-drama-geek
Summary: Following her final reaping, Katniss Everdeen was not prepared for her best friend to ask her to marry him. Unable to come to terms with something she never wanted, Katniss leaves Gale without an answer. But when sirens pierce through District 12, will Katniss regret her answer? Will life go on as normal?


THE SOUND OF SIRENS

Out of the corner of her eye, Hazelle Hawthorne watched as her eldest son, Gale, wiped his palms against the worn fabric of his nicest pants—again. If she weren't as nervous as he was, she would have found his unease amusing.

Unlike his mother, Gale wasn't worried about his two brothers who were both of reaping age this year. He was only worried about one girl's name and how much he _didn't _want it to pass the lips of Effie Trinket. Even more than the reaping, he was worried about later tonight, after their two families would celebrate Katniss' final reaping when he would suggest the two take a walk.

Gale could sense a pair of eyes on him, and he shot a quick look down at his mother. Hazelle flashed her eyes to Gale's mouth where his hand was placed between his teeth.

"If you keep it up, you won't have any fingernails left," Hazelle chastised the twenty-year-old.

"Sorry, Ma." Gale missed the name of the female tribute of the 76th Hunger Games. Dread filled his stomach as he saw a dark head move in the eighteen-year-old section. A short, small girl in a red dress climbed the steps onto the stage. She turned to face the audience. It wasn't Katniss. Gale's eyes closed in relief.

* * *

><p>Hazelle knew that Gale was yearning for a family of his own. She also knew that Gale had only ever wanted one with Katniss. Gale had been out of the reaping for two years now; he'd been working in the mines for the same amount of time. <em>She<em> was ready for him to be happy. Though he hadn't told her, Hazelle assumed Gale would ask Katniss to marry him that night. It was clear to Hazelle that Gale's feelings for Katniss were reciprocated—subconsciously. For years they'd denied their feelings, they were _just best friends. _Within the past couple of years, Gale had begun to outwardly express his feelings to Katniss.

He never told her his true feelings, he'd never been very good with words, but he tried to show her. He tried to convey to her through looks and small touches. He'd reach down to pick posies and primroses for her when they were out in the woods together. He knew they always brought a true smile to her face because they reminded her of her two favorite little girls. He'd save up money for two weeks to buy her a piece of her favorite orange candy. And every Sunday—the only day he escaped the dark depths of the mines—he woke up before the sun to spend the day with her and not his family. The day he began work in the mines Gale started saving money however he could. He hid the extra change away in a sock that he stashed in a tear in his mattress. Two weeks ago he'd finally saved enough, so he rushed to the Hob and traded his savings for a small piece of metal. A ring holding a small green stone.

Hazelle knew about the ring. She'd found it tucked away in a corner of Gale's dresser. She knew exactly who it was meant for. She also knew it would never be used if Katniss refused Gale's proposal. Hazelle could only hope Katniss would realize her feelings when Gale opened his heart to her. Her son had sacrificed so much throughout his life. She couldn't stand to watch his heart break again.

She listened intently throughout the night. Well, as intently as you can listen in a house where Prim is yelling at Rory because Rory is yelling at Vick over Posy's incessant sobs because Vick accidentally broke Posy's favorite toy. Katniss was on the couch rocking a beet-red Posy, as Gale quietly cussed while attempting to secure the two pieces together. Finally, the glue stuck. Gale held the toy up in triumph. Posy's sobbing vanished instantly and she jumped from Katniss' arms.

After throwing her tiny arms around the only father she ever knew, Posy exclaimed: "Oh, thank you, Gale!"

Gale gave the tiny head of black curls a kiss. With one issue resolved, it would be usual for Gale to move on to the three bickering teens. Instead his eyes met with the girl's sitting on the couch.

Gale stood up and extended his hand towards Katniss. "How about a walk, Catnip?"

Hazelle's ears jumped at the words and her heart leapt into her chest. She could barely contain her knowing smile. She took the washcloth and decided to wash down the kitchen table for the second time, just so she could watch the exchange take place. Katniss smiled up at Gale and accepted the hand offered to her.

"Sure," is all Katniss said before the two walked out into the dusk.

Hazelle walked back to the sink where Farrah Everdeen stood washing the last of the dirty dishes.

"Gale bought Katniss a ring," she said.

Farrah's head snapped up in shock. Her eyes were wide. Slowly, a smile spread across her face. She turned back to the pot she was scrubbing.

"Well," Farrah began, "the girl would be a fool not to say yes."

* * *

><p>Katniss Everdeen has never wanted much out of life. Only to escape the reapings, have Prim escape the reapings, and not starve. Two of those tasks were crossed off of her list tonight.<p>

When Gale suggested a walk, she was quick to agree. No one in their right mind would choose to stay in the house while three puberty-stricken teens had a screaming match. She'd placed her hand in Gale's strong palm as he helped her up from the couch and out of the house, but to her surprise, he didn't let go of her hand.

When they reached the fence, they stopped to listen for the unmistakable hum of electricity—nothing. With a smile on his face, Gale pulled up the fence and let Katniss under before he ducked under himself.

Katniss was slightly confused at their destination. Gale had always been adamant that they make it back to the district before nightfall and before the nocturnal animals come out to hunt, but now he was willingly bringing her out here right before the sun set.

"Isn't it dangerous to be out here at night, Gale?" Katniss whispered, though there was no one around to hear.

Gale chuckled at her. "Live a little, Catnip. Nothing is more dangerous than that train you could have been on."

They walked to the log they hide their bows in and hiked the familiar path to their rock ledge. Down over the cliff and out over the mountains, the sun was setting somewhere in the west. The sky was orange and red, the trees and hills around them turned black and took on the look of smoke with the dusk.

"It's beautiful," Katniss exclaimed in awe. "We should come see this more."

"I knew you'd like it," Gale said. He looked at this woman that he was hopelessly in love with. Her long, dark hair that was always in a braid was pulled up into a sophisticated bun. Her grey eyes sparkled with the colors of the sunset in them. Her small form in the red dress she must have borrowed from her mother shrunk against his side as a cool summer breeze blew through the hills and valleys of the mountains. Gale shifted so that his arm was around her to protect her from the chill. He noticed a pink blush coat the tan of her cheeks.

"What are you going to do now, Catnip? You don't have a reaping looming over your head this year."

Katniss looked up at him. She looked into the silver-grey of his eyes. Another breeze blew through the hills and blew Gale's black hair across his forehead. He brought his hand up and pushed it back to its original position. The summer had yet to turn unbearably hot, so Gale's tremendous form was welcome warmth. He towered over her, even as they sat side by side.

She shrugged her shoulders in response and noticed the sharp curve of his jaw as he clenched his teeth together and furrowed his thick eyebrows.

"You haven't thought about it?" Gale asked her.

"No, not really. I guess I'll go about as normal. Hunt every day. Trade. Just the usual," Katniss told him.

"You don't want to get married?" Gale asked. He knew he would start to sound desperate and that is exactly where he was headed.

Katniss was shocked. "You know I've never wanted marriage."

Gale looked Katniss straight in the eye. There was no backing out now. He wanted Katniss so badly he was going to risk everything. "That was years ago, Catnip. You were a child. You know how unmarried women are treated here. How could you want that for yourself? Don't you want to be in love?"

"You don't even know what it's like to be in love, Gale. So, don't stand there and preach to me ab—"

Gale cut her off, "But that's where you're wrong, Catnip. I've been in love with you for years. Can't you see that?"

Katniss was too stunned to speak. She simply stared, eyes wide and mouth ajar.

When Gale spoke next, it was barely above a whisper. "Would the idea of us really terrify you that much? Could you at least think about it?" Katniss watched as Gale pulled something out of his pocket. It was small and was concealed by his hands. "I think you could love me back if you just tried."

He handed it to Katniss. It was a ring. She finally found the courage to look Gale in the eye. What she saw nearly broke her heart. She'd never seen him cry before-not when he broke his arm out here in the woods, not when his heart broke after his dad died, not when he nearly watched Posy starve as a baby, and not when Rory told him he hated him and told him to quit acting like their father. She'd never seen him cry.

"Gale." Katniss gasped.

Gale's voice quivered. "I love you, Katniss. Will you marry me?"

So much had happened in such a short amount of time. So many emotions were running through Katniss she couldn't decipher them. She did know that seeing Gale's emotions was breaking her heart and she wanted nothing more than to bundle him up and hide him away from the world where she could protect him forever. But did that mean she loved him? Of course she loved Gale, but was she in love with him? She didn't know. _She didn't know_. She didn't have enough time to think because Gale was looking at her expectantly and here was this beautiful and perfect ring in her hand that must have cost him a fortune and _she didn't know._

_"_Gale, I-I, I don't know," Katniss stuttered. She looked up at his face again to find him turned away, hurt. His whole body turned and Katniss felt the cold nip her as his arm left. "I need time to think, Gale. You can't just confess your love for me, propose, and expect me to agree right away. I need to figure out how I feel, too."

"Yeah, I understand," he grumbled.

Katniss hit him in the arm. "Oh, stop it. I haven't said no." That caused a smile to grow on Gale's face. "It's a beautiful ring. You shouldn't have spent the money."

"You deserve it," he whispered. He wasn't sure his voice was capable of producing anything more than that.

They walked back to the Everdeen's house in silence. Gale wanted to give Katniss as much time to think as possible. He wanted an answer tonight.

Katniss tossed thoughts around her head the entire walk back. She stared at the ring in her hand, but never once tried it on.

When they got to the porch steps, Gale looked at Katniss expectantly. She looked back sheepishly.

"Gale, I need time to think. I'm sorry," Katniss apologized.

Gale nodded and turned to leave. Katniss stopped him. She held the ring out to him.

"Keep it." Gale mumbled. "It was for you."

As she watched him walk toward his house, Katniss knew her answer. She could never break Gale's heart. She knew she should have called him back, but she didn't. His birthday was next week, and she decided in that moment that she would tell him then.

* * *

><p>Katniss had just nocked an arrow and had laid aim on the first deer she'd seen in months when she heard it. The only sound she never wanted to hear again. Sirens. The deer was forgotten in seconds, there was only one thing on her mind. Gale.<p>

Katniss ran faster than she'd run before. She threw her bow and quiver at the hollow log, not bothering to hide them. She didn't pause at the fence, taking a chance and grabbing the metal without waiting for the tell-tale sign of nothing. Luckily for her, she wasn't electrocuted. She flew through the Seam and made it to the entrance of the mine right as the first set of miners made it to the top. Gale wasn't among them.

Katniss' heart was pounding and breaking at the same time. This was the first major mining accident since the one that caused the death of her father. Her mind was racing back to that fateful day as she searched the crowd for Hazelle Hawthorne. She saw Rory's broad shoulders by the front, she pushed her way up.

"Hazelle," Katniss cried. Hazelle turned instantly and enveloped Katniss in a hug.

"He's going to be all right, sweetie," Hazelle cooed in her ear, but her own voice cracked at the end giving away just how terrified she was herself. Hazelle wasn't a stranger to how selfish the mines were. They took whoever they wanted to. They'd taken her husband seven years earlier, and now she was afraid they were going to take her son.

"Hazelle," Katniss sobbed. Another group of dirty miners came up bringing a plethora of smoke along with them. Again, Gale wasn't with them.

The pattern continued throughout the day and into the night. Men came up the rickety elevator. It went back down, it brought up more men. The crowd slowly dispersed. The groups of men slowly became fewer and fewer and more and more injured until there were groups of two and three. Some brave miners ventured back down to search for survivors.

At ten o'clock that night, there was still no sign of Gale. Katniss' heart was breaking. Another elevator was coming up. Thom, Gale's best friend, came tripping out. Katniss ran towards him.

"Thom, where's Gale?" She asked, desperately.

"Katniss, I don't know. I looked everywhere. He wasn't there anymore. He hasn't come up?" He asked her. She shook her head as the tears streamed down her face. He hugged her. "He'll be up soon. I know he will." Thom whispered into Katniss' ear, even though he knew that there was a large possibility that Gale was dead.

Katniss stood with Hazelle for two more hours. Hazelle had sent Rory home with Vick and Posy around nine. There were a handful of other women with Katniss and Hazelle. At midnight, a large man came up to the remaining women.

There were no more survivors.

Hazelle and Katniss stood there for a moment. Stunned. Heartbroken.

Katniss broke the silence, "I was going to tell him tonight." She indicated to the ring she was wearing on her left hand. Hazelle's sob burst through her lips and she fell into Katniss, holding her close.

"I'm so sorry, baby."

* * *

><p>Hazelle laid Katniss down in Gale's bed. The bed he'd slept in the night before. He would have been twenty-one today. And now he was dead. Even the thought caused Katniss' heart to break and sobs to wrack her body. She pulled the blanket up close to her chin and buried her face in his pillow breathing in <em>him<em>.

That night Katniss had what she presumed to be a nightmare.

_Katniss woke up in a dark, dusty space. She could barely breathe. Everything was black and everything felt like soot._

_She was in the mine._

_A headlamp kept flashing on and off, obviously jarred from the correct position. Trying to focus, Katniss attempted to stand up. Coughing from the soot, she made it halfway to her feet before her head came into contact with the top of the space. Chunks of rock and dust came falling down after the contact._

_She fell back down to the ground, and decided to crawl the short distance to the miner that was lying on the other side of the small space. When she got there, she couldn't tell who it was. The shadow was too great. She removed the man's helmet and screwed the bulb in better, the face illuminated was Gale's._

_"Gale!" Katniss exclaimed. She set the helmet down and grasped his face in her hands. He was dirty, and his face was caked in blood as a result of a deep cut that was formed above his left eye. He was alive, though, and that's all that mattered._

_A movement caught Katniss' eye and she turned. In front of her stood her father and a large man who looked like Gale._

_Slowly, her dad brought his finger to his lips._

Katniss bolted upright. The moment she woke up, the pain of losing Gale crashed into her all over again. She couldn't contain her sobs.

She cried herself dry for a good hour before she heard a pounding on the Hawthorne's front door. She quickly got up and rushed down to answer it. She was met with Thom.

"Katniss, they found him. He's alive!"

* * *

><p>Katniss sprinted next to Thom towards the small mining hospital that was nestled next to the mining offices.<p>

"Where was he? How did he survive something like that?" She gasped out between strides.

Thom's voice wavered as his feet pounded down onto the dirt road. "They were searching for bodies, Katniss. They weren't searching for survivors. He shouldn't be alive. There was a crack, his headlamp was still working, Katniss. It was flashing on and off. They broke through the wall and found him, trapped in an air pocket and alive. He's got a pretty bad head injury, but he's alive."

Ahead of her, Katniss could see the smoke pouring from the chimney of the mining hospital, she pushed her legs even harder and burst through the door.

There he was.

Alive.

She collapsed next to his cot and clutched his dirty hand between hers. A white cloth was wrapped around his head and dried blood covered the left side of his face.

Katniss turned to Gale's best friend, "Thom, run back to Gale's house, tell the other's that he's okay." With that, Thom was gone.

Gale was dirty and beat up, but a quick up-and-down by Katniss proved that every part of him was whole and where it was supposed to be. He was going to be okay.

Katniss reached up to stroke the side of his face. "Gale, it's me, Katniss," she said to him.

Gale's eyelids fluttered open. When his eyes focused on her, Katniss breathed a sigh of relief.

"Catnip, what happened? Why does my head hurt?" Gale asked her.

Katniss squeezed his hand. "There was an accident in the mine, Gale. A lot of men died. You were trapped." Katniss paused almost unable to go on. "We thought you were dead. They told us there were no more survivors, Gale." Gale rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb. "You're not supposed to be alive right now. It's a miracle that they found you."

"Mr. Hawthorne?" Katniss and Gale both turned towards the voice. The doctor of the mining hospital was standing there. "Since you are awake, you're safe to go home. Keep your head injury clean. We are very sorry this happened to you."

"Let's take you to my mother, I'd like her to look at your head," Katniss suggested. Gale didn't argue with her.

The walk to the Everdeen house was mostly silent. Katniss walked with her arm around Gale's waist and his arm around her shoulder. She was prepared to catch him if he became dizzy.

"I had this weird dream, Catnip. My dad was there, with a man named," Gale paused and looked down at her. "Leo. That was your father's name right?" Katniss nodded.

Katniss suddenly knew that her dream had been real. Her father and Gale's father had somehow been with him when the accident happened. They'd protected him. Katniss decided to keep her revelations quiet, though. She figured that is what her father and Asher Hawthorne would want.

Gale's footsteps were slowing as they ascended the steps into her home. She helped him lay down on the couch before calling for her mother. She could see his eyelids fluttering open and closed.

"Gale, are you alright?" She asked him, alarmed.

"I will be if you marry me." He mumbled.

Katniss laughed. "Of course I'll marry you." And in the middle of chaos, Katniss Everdeen kissed Gale Hawthorne.

* * *

><p>Katniss Everdeen became Katniss Hawthorne three weeks after the mining accident that should have claimed the lives of twenty-six men—a mining accident that took the lives of twenty-five instead. Word of the "miracle miner" spread quickly throughout the district.<p>

The two lovers said their vows in front of friends and family inside the cramped Justice Building. A cake was given to them from their friends at the Hob for the celebration. Later that night, in the privacy of their _own _home, Katniss and Gale had their toasting.

Their anniversary happened to land on a Sunday the next year. Katniss watched as Gale got up to put his hunting jacket on.

"Please, Gale, I want to go out in the woods with you," Katniss begged.

"Catnip, no, it's too dangerous."

Katniss huffed in exasperation. "In a couple of months I will be stuck at home relying on Rory to go out hunting for us. Please, this could be the last time in a long time."

Gale turned around and his eyes landed on Katniss. Her hands were rubbing her swollen belly. Catnip was very pregnant, it was crazy for him to even think of letting her come with him.

She continued to plead, "It's our anniversary, I want to be with the man I love." He couldn't say no to that.

Gale walked up next to her, crouched down, and placed both of his hands on their baby. "Here's the deal, you can come, only if you promise you can fit through the fence," he teased. Katniss pushed him away from her and stomped to where she keeps her hunting boots. He watched as she struggled to find a position where she could reach the laces over her protruding stomach.

Not wanting to watch her suffer through her predicament, Gale knelt down and took her foot into his palm. "You know I love you right?" He chuckled as he laced the boot up.

"Yeah, whatever, you jerk," Katniss grumbled. But when Gale looked up from her laces, Katniss was smiling down at him.


End file.
